The Global Influence of European Union 's Foreign Policy in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs)

Abstract

The European Union (EU) has evolved into a multifaceted global actor, extending its influence across the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and through the Outermost Regions (ORs) and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). This panel explores how the EU’s foreign policy operates at the intersection of normative aspirations and strategic realities. Through regionally focused and comparative studies, it examines how the EU promotes governance reforms, conflict mediation, and economic partnerships while balancing global interests such as migration control, counter-drugs trafficking, promotion of democracy, and great-power rivalry. The papers in this panel analyze EU’s global influence from the nearby (Mediterranean – Middle East and Gibraltar) to the far away (Southeast Asia and the outermost regions – Ors - & overseas countries and territories – OCTs – of the Caribbean, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific regions). The European Union’s evolving global presence is increasingly shaped by its complex relationships with peripheral territories and strategic regions in many parts of the world. This panel links together analyses of EU’s foreign policy from special neighbors (like in the case of Gibraltar, which has repercussions on relations in the Western Mediterranean and with the United Kingdom), to testing the normative power of the EU in farther away countries such as Jordan and Myanmar, to the ability of the EU to engage with the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and Outermost Regions (ORs) of three of its member-states (Denmark, France, and the Netherlands), which—though geographically distant—could serve as geopolitical “aircraft carriers” for projecting European interests across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Collectively, these cases illustrate the EU’s multifaceted approach to global influence: one that blends strategic positioning, normative commitments, and adaptive governance. Whether through the strategic involvement of its member-states’ global territories, post-Brexit arrangements, or development partnerships, the EU navigates a world of shifting alliances and contested sovereignties. Its foreign policy is marked by a persistent tension between constructivism, idealism and realism, as it seeks to uphold democratic values while responding to geopolitical constraints. As global power dynamics evolve, the EU’s ability to reconcile these forces will determine the reach and resilience of its external action. These studies invite deeper reflection on the EU’s role as a global actor—not merely as a normative power, but as a pragmatic strategist operating across diverse geopolitical terrains.

Title	Details
Values Under Pressure: The EU’s Struggle for Influence in Post-Coup Myanmar	View Paper Details
The EU's Foreign Policy Response to the Exclusion of Women in the Jordanian Labour Force	View Paper Details
The Relations Between Gibraltar and the EU: Brexit à la Carte!	View Paper Details
European Union’s “Aircraft Carriers”? : Are the Overseas Countries And Territories (OCTs) and Outermost Regions (ORs) Willing to Promote EU's Global Geopolitical Interests?	View Paper Details
European University Alliances as informal geopolitical infrastructures: knowledge, actorness, and EU external positioning	View Paper Details